Iran Diplomats Suggest Flexibility Over Nuclear Deal

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

Iran has signaled for the first time that it is willing to accept a modest reduction in nuclear enrichment throughout the duration of a comprehensive nuclear agreement, according to people involved in the talks.

Although Iran’s suggestion isn’t Tehran’s only proposal on the table, and it is very unlikely to be accepted in current form by the West, it is the first time Iran has shown some flexibility on future enrichment rights—a key obstacle to a deal.

The signs of some flexibility come with six days to go before the July 20 deadline for completing a nuclear deal as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a second day of talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to try and unlock a deal.

In brief remarks to reporters late Monday, Mr. Kerry said he had held “serious discussions” with Mr. Zarif and European Union foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton, who leads the six-power group that negotiates with Tehran on its nuclear plans.

Mr. Kerry is expected to give a press conference in Vienna on Tuesday morning, according to a senior State Department official.

Iran’s proposal is based on freezing the number of centrifuges it operates at its current level of 9,400.

It will slightly reduce the fuel it produces from these old-generation machines during the multiyear period of the agreement, according to an Iranian and a Western diplomat.

According one of the diplomats, Iran first aired the proposal to European diplomats several weeks ago. Under the offer, Iran wouldn’t have to remove any of the thousands of additional centrifuges it has at its Natanz nuclear facility that aren’t currently operating, the Iranian official said.

The Iranian proposal wouldn’t amount to the significant reduction in the enrichment program that the U.S. has been demanding and it would be easy for Tehran to quickly reverse the concession by increasing the centrifuges” output again, the Western diplomat cautioned.

Yet at a time when Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been demanding the West let Tehran significantly ratchet up its current program, the offer appears to represent an important shift.

The Iranian move could help secure an extension of the talks. Earlier this month, Mr. Kerry warned Washington would only allow the talks to continue past the deadline if there was real progress.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday the U.S. and Iran had made “important progress” in the talks, though ” serious gaps” remain.

Mr. Earnest said Iran had “engaged in the comprehensive negotiations in a serious way and demonstrated some flexibility.”

Mr. Kerry had originally been expected to leave after Sunday’s talks between Mr. Zarif and four western foreign ministers including the secretary of state. But a senior State Department official said Monday morning Mr. Kerry would ” take the time necessary…to see if progress can be made.”

Iran negotiates with the U.S., U.K., China, Russia, France and Germany on its nuclear program, which it says is for purely peaceful purposes.

A comprehensive agreement would see the West gradually lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for firm guarantees that Tehran couldn’t quickly break out and produce enough nuclear fuel for an atomic bomb.

U.S. officials have made it clear that after the multiyear agreement expires, Iran will be free to make its own choices on whether to operate a larger-scale enrichment program for peaceful purposes. However the two sides still have major differences over how long an agreement would last.

The U.S. is pushing for a deal lasting as much as 20 years, some diplomats say whereas Iran thinks an agreement–and therefore limits on its program–should only last a few years.

On Sunday, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said there was still a “huge” gap between Iran and the six powers on the enrichment issue.

At present, Iran has around 19,000 centrifuges, all but 1,000 of which are old-generation machines, with relatively low enrichment capacity. However only around 9,400 machines at Tehran’s Natanz nuclear facility are operating and producing nuclear fuel.

In a speech last week, Iran’s supreme leader said the country may eventually need to increase by tenfold its enrichment capacity, a comment that some diplomats say may restrict the flexibility of Tehran’s negotiators.

Click HERE to read more

Share with friends
You can publish this article on your website as long as you provide a link back to this page.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*